Not much impact of malware attack on India yet: IT minister

The government on Wednesday said it has initiated proactive measures and is keeping a close vigil on the ransomware attack that has hit Europe, maintaining that there is no large-scale impact on India yet.

"We have been taking proactive steps... we have sent out advisories (on the cyber attack and the malware)... India is not much affected at this stage," Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Wednesday.

Prasad added that the government is keeping a close watch on the matter. He was speaking at the national convention here on 'Digitalization: Opportunities and Challenges'.

Ravi Shankar Prasad also exhorted state-owned firms to be "vigilant" while securing digital infrastructure even as he emphasised that cyber attacks should not be a deterrent to building information superhighways in India.

One of the terminals at the JNPT port has been impacted by the latest malware attack, the government confirmed on Wednesday. The fresh wave of attack came weeks after a similar incident – Wannacry – that had affected systems of many companies.

"The (shipping) ministry has confirmed that one terminal at JNPT has been affected due to the attack at Maersk's Hague office," an official said earlier on Wednesday, adding that the government will share a report or a statement as soon as it comes to this effect.

The Maersk group too confirmed that its operations were hit by the cyber attack. "We can confirm that on Tuesday, June 27, AP Moller-Maersk was hit as part of a cyber attack named Petya, affecting multiple sites and select business units," Maersk said in a tweet.

GSTN safe from global malware attack, no need to worry: CEO

As India gears up to kick off GST from July 1, GST Network on Wednesday sought to calm nerves in the wake of global cyber attack, saying its operations have not been affected and registrations have been going on smoothly.

GSTN Chief Executive Prakash Kumar said the IT company has taken all necessary precautions to prevent such ransomware attacks and all data are safe.

With just two days left for the rollout of the biggest tax reform since Independence, Kumar assured stakeholders full safety of data, saying "there is nothing to worry".

Under the new indirect tax regime GST, Goods and Services Tax Network will be handling the mammoth IT back office and storing data of over 3 billion invoices per month.